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Guest Artist Pianist Rob Auler to Perform on April 9

Guest artist pianist Rob Auler will perform at Hope College on Saturday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

The program will include "Variations Serieuses, Op. 54," by Felix Mendelsshon; "Spiral for Solo Piano" and "Shards for Solo Piano," by Jonathan Pieslak; "Upstate: A Slow Drag," by Carter Pann; "Turning for Solo Piano," by Derek Bermel; and "Mephisto Waltz, No. 1," by Franz Liszt.

Robert Auler, who is a piano professor at SUNY Oswego, is an award-winning American concert pianist who maintains a national and international performing career. Auler has won numerous competitions, including the Society of American Musicians First Prize.

Following his success in the Young Keyboard Artists' Association Piano Competition, Auler was invited to perform throughout Germany, France, the Netherlands and Denmark. He has also presented concerts throughout Venezuela, most notably at Caracas' "Festival A Tiempo."

In April 2008, Auler presented concerts throughout Austria, including an appearance on the "Alte-Shmeide Gallery Series" in Vienna, as well as a concert at the international "Ignaz Pleyel Musuem" in Ruppersthal. Auler has also appeared in concert throughout the United States, including on the "Xavier Piano and Guitar Series," at City College of New York, as a featured artist on the MTNA Convention's "Rising Star Series," and on the "Dame Myra Hess" series in Chicago with a live simulcast on Chicago's WFMT-FM Radio. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in June 2004.

As a chamber musician he has recently appeared with the Ying Quartet, the MIRO Quartet, cellist Julie Albers and violinist Irina Muresanu, and has been the resident pianist for the Michigan City Chamber Music Festival for the past eight years. As a concerto soloist, Rob has appeared with the Northwest Florida Symphony, the Arc Ensemble, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Simon Bolivar Orchestra, the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra and the LaPorte Symphony.

Auler is an advocate of new music, having worked with William Bolcom, Steve Reich, Leslie Bassett, Martin Bresnick, Rudolf Haken, Frederic Rzewski, Jonathan Pieslak and Carter Pann.

His festival performances have included appearances at the Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, the MUSIC 200x Series in Cincinnati and Brave New Works-Ann Arbor. His recent compact disc release, "American Century," features music of the last 100 years influenced by the American vernacular.

Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th Street.